Frances Micklow/The Star-LedgerMuncher Bob Goodman cuts up some pork chops at the Waiting Room in Rahway.

Some Munchmobile trips are easier to “sell” to prospective Munchers than others. Down the Shore — get in line, we’ll call your number. Subs, pizza, burgers, bagels, delis — there’s never a shortage of volunteers.

But when it came time to schedule passengers for the chops trip, male Munchers couldn’t put up their hands fast enough.

You could almost hear the drool forming and the knives sharpening.

“I am the envy of friends and family,” Chris Del Sordi said several days after the trip.

Apparently, they weren’t mad at Chris for not bringing home leftovers. In Chris’ defense, there weren’t any; the Munchers went to town — make that four towns — during their foray for fat, juicy and tender pork chops, lamb chops and veal chops. And other items that threatened to overwhelm plates and appetites.

“The biggest prawn I’ve seen since ‘District 9,’ ” Dave Van Houten said of the grilled shrimp at Iberia Tavern in Newark.

1. For great pork chops, you can’t go wrong at McCrory’s, or at least a former McCrory’s.

2. For luscious lamb chops, go see the Greek.

3. And vegetables, at least in the Ironbound, need to form a union, or something.

no place to veg out

About that last statement. Every time I’ve eaten in the Ironbound, and I mean every time — the vegetables are an afterthought, too often a sodden, sorry mess. Overcooked — more likely just microwaved — to death, they sit at the edge of the plate, forlorn and forgotten.

The veggies turned out no different at Iberia Tavern, with sister restaurant Iberia Peninsula the Ironbound’s most iconic food landmark.

We pulled up an outdoor table at Iberia Tavern; the TV in the bar was tuned to a skiing competition, which provided scant relief on this already-sizzling summer day.

Ignore the overcooked broccoli and concentrate on the chops. The pork chops are familiar and formulaic; you could do this at home. “Lacked any punch in the flavor department,” Tom Kaszner said.

The lamb chops seemed an inferior cut; the Munchers liked them much more than I did. Best of all the chops: the veal chops, which could have been seasoned better but still managed to stand out.

Robert Goodman, who says he’s been eating at Iberia “for decades,” came away unimpressed. “Nothing had much flavor, and I’ve never had worse fries in the Ironbound,” he said.

Fries are fries; I wish they’d do something about the vegetables — at Iberia and throughout the Ironbound.

Worth the wait

Munch tips come in year-round, but often we must wait several years before a recommended restaurant “fits”’ a category. The Waiting Room in Rahway needs to wait no longer. The former McCrory’s — now decorated with big-screen TVs and whimsical signs — looks like a neighborhood-hangout-meets-sports-bar by way of a menu you generally won’t find in either. Sure, you can get nachos, disco fries and buffalo wings, but there are also mini-crabcakes with Cajun dipping sauce, potato pancakes and garlic pork chops.

The restaurant was initially located nearer the train station, and became an unofficial waiting room, thus the name. The owner is Chris Wenson, the one with the sense of humor. Directions on the website read like this: “from the north, go south, from the south, go north.” The Halloween party is held in November, the Christmas party in January, and so on.

Skip the buffalo shrimp with the “famous” buffalo sauce (it’s the same “famous” one you’ll get the world over) and proceed directly to the chops. The garlic pork chops are seasoned and cooked to near-perfection. “Juiciest of the day,” Goodman judged. “Right mix of saltiness and properly cooked,” Van Houten added.

Hold the presses — the baby lamb chops are even better. Del Sordi found the meat “so tender” and the seasoning “remarkable.” Van Houten described the seasoning as “dynamite.”

So what’s in it? Even Wenson doesn’t know. “They don’t tell me, but I know they use some cilantro,” he said of his cooks.

That’s one way to hold on to your job — don’t tell the boss how you cook the food!

The voodoo chili, with bubbling-over cheese and plenty of meat, deserves to be more famous than those wings.

“A gem of a place,” Kaszner summed up.

Lamb lionized

It pains me to say the bread at Greek City in Ramsey is better than the bread at Iberia, but the Big Dog never pulls punches. The bread is from Amato in Northvale. The restaurant, tucked in a strip mall on Route 17 north, is casual chic, with V-shaped Lucite-like booth dividers that look right out of an airport lounge 50 years ago — or 50 years from now.

Go to this Greek for lamb, but start with the octapodi. Octopus, of course, here grilled and drizzled with olive oil and vinegar. Too often octopus can be too chewy; not here.

The Greek salad seemed heavy on red onions and light on feta, but good nevertheless. The baklava is straight from Astoria, the owner informed us, but it tasted straight from dullsville.

The hirini brizola or pork loin chop is fine, but it’s no match for the Waiting Room’s. The paidakia or baby lamb chops tasted oily and slightly greasy, even if Goodman judged them the best chop all day. In any event, choose the lamb porterhouse, generously juicy, sensationally seasoned and the best piece of meat the Munchmobile driver has had all year.

Kaszner called it “porterhouse paradise,” while Van Houten was even more effusive.

“Fantastic is all I can say,” he said. “Some people remember movie lines; I remember great meals, and just like MacArthur, I shall return!”

Meating expectations

The Hard Grove Cafe in Jersey City had an impossible task: win Top Chop honors over Greek City’s porterhouse lamb chops. The grilled and fried pork chops, each marinated in citrus juices and garlic, acquitted themselves well. They’re both hefty, hunky pieces of meat, but with not much in the way of seasoning. It’s all about the simple grilled, and fried, flavors. Goodman found them “way overcooked,” but Del Sordi disagreed, saying the fried chop “really popped.”

“Nothing like good charred pork fat,” he added.

The guys loved the fried plantain cups with ceviche, a special. Goodman called the dish the day’s second best item, surpassed only by the octopus at Greek City.

If you’re in a non-chop state of mind, the creamy lemon salsa chicken at Hard Grove is an excellent choice: tender, tasty, not overly lemony.

You’d think the typical American male would jump at the chance for more meat, but our boys were cooked, after four filling stops.

The Munchmobile driver, meanwhile, found two kernels of rice from Hard Grove stuck inside his notebook weeks later. No, he did not pop them in his mouth. He may act juvenile at times, but he’s not a 4-year-old.

Tell us where to go

Saturday, the Big Dog becomes the Big Cheese. Is any food item more versatile than cheese? We’re searching for the best of anything made with cheese — pizza, quesadillas, mac and cheese, cheesecake, cheeseburgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, paneer, omelets and so on. And let’s not forget cheese itself. Where should we go? Call the Munchmobile Hotline at (973) 392-1765 or e-mail pgenovese@starledger.com.

T-shirt giveaway

Each week, we give a limited-edition Munchmobile T-shirt to the two people who guess our trivia question correctly. Last week’s question: What Monmouth County bakery did the Munch crew visit on their doughnut run? The answer: EatCake in Matawan. The winners: Laurie Mills and Anthony Pace.

This week’s question: At which Munch stop this summer can you find live spaghetti? Call the Munchmobile Hotline.

Letter of the Week

My name is Dave Van Houten, a 48-year-old follicly-challenged husband and father of two. Been a Star-Ledger subscriber for over 20 years and yet I have no idea what is going on in the world. I am, however, well up to date on Mutts, F Minus and Munchmobile. Yeah, I only read the good stuff. And for the record I have a Summit Diner T-shirt due to my frequent trips to that diner for sliders — a Munchmobile recommendation from way back.

Here is the deal: I live in a house with all women: my wife and two daughters. And while I would like to think I am the king of the castle, I lost my status as Top Dog last year when my 16-year-old daughter Madison became the first Munchmobiler in the family. She ate broccoli rabe and octopus on that trip, so I know you have magical powers! Surely a trip on the weiner machine can return me to my rightful status! I have never backed down from a food challenge or a N.J. road trip. Can you get me out of the doghouse?